Thinning Hair At 18

[Baldingat188]

I've posted a similar question on this forum before but I am still seeking advice

I have thinning hair in the crown area and I am 18 years old, this has probally been going on for about a year. I really don't think I can pull of a bald look so I am pretty desperate to keep my hair. After finding this site and researching a bit it seems propecia is the best preventative measure.

To me , side affects seem like a risk worth taking instead of losing my hair at a young age because of I was bald I don't think I could find motivation to leave the house let alone work or finish college

The problem is every dermatologist has told me propecia is not a good idea at my age and would not prescribe it . I am seeing a doctor for hair loss and I have started on Nizoral shampoo and rogaine which I am told will maintain my thinning hair. But everything I have read online says that these two drugs will not maintain unless combined with propecia?


Sorry for the long post but is there any truth to that? Will rogaine maintain hair , and if not is it wise to take propecia at 18?

 

[mrmojorisin]

Rogaine/nizoral will not be enough to maintain your hair in the long term.

I started using finasteride as soon I was 18, I didn't get any side effects but I have continued to lose hair unfortunately. It is a matter of finding a doctor who will prescribe it to you however you can order it online if you wish.

 

[Pavi]

Rogaine/nizoral will not be enough to maintain your hair in the long term.

I started using finasteride as soon I was 18, I didn't get any side effects but I have continued to lose hair unfortunately. It is a matter of finding a doctor who will prescribe it to you however you can order it online if you wish.

Completely disagree. Minoxidil and nizoral can effectively maintain hair. The problem is, the long term minoxidil studies mean nothing! Think about it... If you take 100 guys and measure AVERAGE hair counts over X amount of years, of course the AVERAGE hair counts will fall... You're going to have responders and non responders. I have been on min and nizoral for 8 months and it has completely halted and even reversed my hair loss. Try it out and see, but you have to be religious in applying minoxidil

 

[alexpie2]

Completely disagree. Minoxidil and nizoral can effectively maintain hair. The problem is, the long term minoxidil studies mean nothing! Think about it... If you take 100 guys and measure AVERAGE hair counts over X amount of years, of course the AVERAGE hair counts will fall... You're going to have responders and non responders. I have been on min and nizoral for 8 months and it has completely halted and even reversed my hair loss. Try it out and see, but you have to be religious in applying minoxidil

That is exactly how a study like this should be done. This should effectively replicate the efficacy of the drug you are testing. If the drug worked to perfection, the average hair count would not fall at all. In the case of minoxidil, since the average hair counts fall over time, you can safely assume that the drug loses its effectiveness over time.

 

[Pavi]

That is exactly how a study like this should be done. This should effectively replicate the efficacy of the drug you are testing. If the drug worked to perfection, the average hair count would not fall at all. In the case of minoxidil, since the average hair counts fall over time, you can safely assume that the drug loses its effectiveness over time.

Average hair counts fall on propecia too...

 

[Bob Dylan]

I agree with the notion mentioned above: Finasteride works well for most people (exceedingly well for myself, and apparently the 40-year-old gentleman as well), and you should not give up finding a doctor. If the 6th doctor you see denies you, try the 7th. If you're straight with them, you'll probably find one who can sympathize. Especially a male doctor I would imagine. My doctor had no idea what finasteride was (he looked to be 65 and had a decent amount of hair for his age). But after a little bit of breaking it down (you have to let them believe you know your stuff), he gave me a prescription for generic 5mg finasteride (1.25mg/day if you break it into quarters). Give it a whirl.

 

[alexpie2]

Average hair counts fall on propecia too...

That is correct! There has been plenty of evidence showing that finasteride's effectiveness goes down after long periods of usage.